ABSTRACT
Jacalteco Maya people became targets simply because they identified as indigenous people, and their accusers were sometimes their own neighbours. Paintings on ancient Maya pots, carvings on ruins of buildings and the earliest Maya writings still in existence all reveal a life of trade, war and travel. Change of rulers through overthrow was commonplace, as was change of location due to population growth or attack from hostile neighbours. Millions of people alive today are direct descendants of the Maya of the famous kingdoms known by such sites as Tikal, Chitzen Itza, Zaculeo and Tulum, and beyond. Of the millions of highland Maya who live in the volcanic mountains, only a fraction, perhaps as low as a few thousand, rose up to fight the government. The cathedral of the Virgin of Candelario is at the symbolic centre of the town, clearly a Catholic and Spanish influence.
